Charlie knocked on the door to Alastor's radio tower a few times to make sure she wasn't interrupting anything. She knew that Alastor was typically doing a broadcast when he was present in his radio tower. At least, she thought so. Honestly, he could just use it as his own personal space. She didn't get a verbal response from Alastor as Alastor went and answered the door.
The Radio Demon opened the door as he normally didn't get visitors at his radio tower. "Ah hello Charlie, what can I do for you?" He asked as he began to lean against his cane.
"Hey Al, are you busy right now?" She asked as she began to briefly look at the room behind him.
"Not anymore I'm not. I just finished my latest broadcast so your timing is nothing but exquisite," Alastor responded as he tapped her in the chest with his cane.
"Oh good," She spoke slowly, "Soooooo. I have some things to talk about," She added while keeping in mind what Husk told her earlier.
Alastor raised an eyebrow in suspicion by the way she spoke. "Things to talk about? Well. Alright, come on in," he said as he moved out of the way for Charlie to come in.
She walked in and couldn't help but look around the room she was now in. "Hm. I guess this is my first time actually in your radio tower," Charlie said as she examined the room. She noticed that Alastor had a very advanced setup to do his broadcasts. She could tell he was very professional when it came to those.
"Why I do believe it is!" Alastor exclaimed. "It's a wondrous little set up...wouldn't you agree?" He asked as he sat himself down in a chair.
"Yeah, I think it's pretty neat. You have quite the broadcasting setup," Charlie proceeded to look at all the buttons and dials displayed on the console. "Ever thought about updating your system?"
"Why there's no need! You see..." He proceeded, "I have a knack for the old things. Not some horrendous devices they have now. The old contraptions are so much simpler and much more efficient."
"Well. You are the expert in those sort of things," Charlie said as she looked out the windows in the tower. You could see a lot of pentagram city from here.
"How right you are!" Alastor felt like tooting his own horn in that moment. "So as you stated earlier, you came here to talk. What exciting things did you want to talk about?"
"R-Right," Charlie said as she needed to get back on track. She grabbed one of the chairs and turned it around so she could look at Alastor in his eyes. "Well, one of these things is some pretty big news as it just happened recently. There is someone new at the hotel."
"O-ho? Well good for you Charlie, you have sent another person on the path to redemption," Alastor said as he certainly found it more of goal for her than himself.
"Uhhhhhh. Well," Charlie said as she crossed her fingers.
Once again, Alastor practically raised an eyebrow at that response as there seems to be more there. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Well, this person isn't really on the path of redemption. I...do not think this person could even go on that path if they chose to do so," Charlie explained hoping that made enough sense.
"Hm, you have given me a conundrum to solve. It is not that father of yours is it or any other type of hellborn demon?" Alastor asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, no. It's not him. And no, it is not any hellborn demon," Charlie said with a smile.
"I figured as much. That would be quite something if it was. But I'm not sure I know of anyone else that fits that description," Alastor said.
"You actually do know him," Charlie replied. She noticed that Alastor seemed confused by that. "It's actually the human that is staying here."
"The human?" Alastor said as he let out a laugh as he didn't believe that to be true at first. "Oh? You are not joking are you?" He watched as he got a head shake in response. "My, my, I never would have ever expected that answer. I must ask, how did you even convince him to stay here?"
"Well I really don't know what the man is thinking or what goes on inside his head, but I knew he didn't have anywhere to stay so I offered him a room," Charlie said. She decided to keep some details to herself.
"That is something alright. I now understand why you said this person cannot go on the path of redemption since they are not dead. You truly offered him a room with nothing in return?" Alastor asked.
"Yeah, I did. I just felt like helping him out. I mean, he is the first real human I've ever seen in my life," Charlie explained as best as she could.
"Is that so?" Alastor asked as he never thought about that before. He then slightly cocked his head. "Well, I suppose he would set the bar quite high as one could consider him a very above average human to say the least."
"Yeah, I have heard that same thing from Angel saying how most humans are not as big as he is," Charlie said.
"Very true indeed," Alastor replied. "I remember back in my time most people didn't grow to be that big. Ah but the world continues to change doesn't it."
"Yeah, I suppose that is true. Oh, wait, didn't you try to work out a deal with him before?" Charlie asked.
"Yes, I did. Even though he declined my first offer, that does not mean he won't ever accept my offer. If that's the case you made it a lot easier on me," Alastor said giving Charlie a grin.
"Made it easier? How did I do that?" Charlie wondered.
"Well if that desperation kicks in of having no way to accomplish whatever goal he is trying to complete, he always knows where to find me," Alastor said.
"Oh. I see. Speaking of that deal, what would you even have him do for you in exchange? Would it be something like what Husk and Niffty do for you?" Charlie asked as Husk and Niffty seemed like henchmen to Alastor at times and she couldn't see that human being a henchman.
"Oh please my dear, that man has a load of capabilities and potential that Husker and Niffty do not possess. The man is absolutely fearless and is physically stronger than anyone I've seen in this land of Hell. He could be very useful to me and give me quite the show," Alastor responded. Charlie figured that she should have expected that response.
"Right," Charlie said. "Well anyways that was the big ticket item that I wanted you to know so you weren't taken by surprise when you spotted him."
"Well thank you for thinking of me," Alastor said. There was a little bit of sarcasm in his voice.
"The next piece was along the talks of redemption," Charlie said changing the subject.
"Of course, the most important piece," Alastor responded.
"My thoughts were more along the lines of where the hotel is at in regards to that," Charlie said.
"I have continued to promote the hotel on my end. I make sure to include something about it when I do my broadcasts," Alastor said.
"That's always helpful. Maybe I got to change things on my end. I've tried going up to demons personally and trying to get them to give it a chance with Angel, Vaggie, and just myself but it hasn't been seeming to work. Angel and Vaggie are a bit too hot-headed when it comes to criticism about the hotel. Andddd and others don't take the idea seriously," Charlie said.
"Comes with the territory my dear," Alastor responded. "But who knows, maybe some of these demons will become desperate."
"Desperate for redemption?" Charlie asked with a metaphorically raised eyebrow.
"Not everyone can handle hell. You get put down here for almost anything. Demons prey on the weak down here. Why do you think most demons are so rude to one another? Well...except to me of course," Alastor said with a smile of his own. That was the downright truth as people kissed Alastor's ass most of the time. "So because of that, they will want to get out of hell so bad they find their way to this place. We set them up with high hopes of getting out of this wasteland just to watch THEM CRUMBLE DOWN BELOW."
"Alastor, that is not funny," Charlie said.
"It was too obvious for me to let that one slide. You know that I don't have to believe it as long as they do," Alastor said. "But I honestly do have a few tricks that you could do in a different attempt in recruitment for the hotel."
"You do?" Charlie asked.
"Absolutely!" Alastor responded.
"That does not involve sheer amounts of violence or scare tactics?" Charlie asked. She just had to make sure with someone like Alastor.
"I am offended you would think so low of me, but I also do not put any blame on you for thinking that way either. I assure you, these are just good business strategies," Alastor said trying to be as reassuring as possible."
"Okay, let me hear them," Charlie said.
During Charlie and Alastor's talk, Husk and Niffty remained down at the bar. And unfortunately for Husk's sake, Niffty was really obsessed with her newfound pet.
"Do you HAVE to do this right here?" Husk asked as he was becoming annoyed.
"Aw come on Husk, it's cute," Niffty said. The cute thing she was referring to was Keekee playing with a cat toy that Niffty managed to find. It was one of those sticks that had a string attached to it and attached to the string was a fake mouse.
"Nowadays, I don't typically find things cute," Husk said.
"Aw come on. I think you need to get over your jealousy," Niffty said.
"I AM not jealous of a cat," Husk responded.
"See you are! The fact that I didn't even mention you specifically being jealous of Keekee," Niffty said.
Husk let out a defeated and annoyed sigh. "Whatever. I am just saying, 'cause this place is practically a ghost town, there is so much space to play with..." he said as the name actually slipped his mind.
"Keekee," Niffty said filling in the blank.
"Yes. With Keekee," Husk said finishing his sentence.
"I just think you just need to get used to her. You two are practically a part of the same stitch," Niffty said as she was talking about them being cats.
"Unfortunately," Husk said.
"I'm surprised that you haven't gotten used to your demon form. Don't you see how unique it is? You can literally fly!" Niffty explained.
"THANK you Niffty. All these years I haven't figured that out yet," Husk said.
Their conversation was put on pause as the doors started to open. They both assumed it was Angel, but were very surprised to see Cherri Bomb walk in with Angel's pig. Now Husk was aware of who Cherri Bomb was, but he didn't know too much about her as he never had any conversation with her. Niffty was pretty much in the same boat as Husk.
"Well, well, well, look at this place," Cherri said. This was actually her first time inside the hotel.
"You fuckin' lost or sum shit?" Husk asked as she doubt she wanted to be redeemed.
"Hell no. Unless there's another hotel that's trying to redeem the sinners of hell," Cherri said.
"Nope, this would be the one," Niffty answered.
"Well good. I'm bringing Angel's pig back for him," Cherri said as she placed Fat Nuggets down.
"Where is Angel?" Niffty asked.
"That fucking bitch ass boss of his is what happened. Fucking pulled up in his little fancy ass limo and took Angel with him," Cherri explained.
"Fucking hell again? Feels like the tenth time this week," Husk said. He was definitely aware of how much Angel had been going," Husk said.
"Exactly. So he didn't have time to bring this little guy back so I'm here just to drop him off. Hope I didn't get your hopes up in seeking the path to heaven or whatever shit is going on here," Cherri said.
"It ain't like I'm looking for it either. I'm basically repaying a fucking debt," Husk said.
"Damn, sounds pretty lame," Cherri said.
"Pretty much," Husk said.
"Well, that's all from me, like I said, hope I ain't get your hopes up that you got a new member at this place, and if you see Angel, tell him to give me a shout when he has the chance," Cherri said as he went towards the doors.
"Will do," Niffty said as Cherri had left the hotel. She went over to Fat Nuggets and gave him a pat. "It does feel like Angel has been going out a lot though." She said to Husk.
"Yes the fuck it does," Husk agreed.
"I'll take Angel's pig back to his room. Make sure nothing happens to Keekee," Niffty said.
"I'm sure nothing bad will happen to the cat," Husk responded. Niffty took his word and picked up Fat Nuggets to take him to Angel's room. Husk placed his elbow on the counter and rested his head on his fist. He basically was stalling time waiting for Niffty to come back to take Keekee away. And speak of Keekee, she jumped on the counter and began to stare at Husk with her one eye. "Of course, you're by me now. Don't think we're gonna be some pals because we're both cats. You may like being a cat but I sure don't." Husk then let out a large sigh after realizing what he was doing. "And I'm talking to a fucking animal." He watched as Keekee walked closer to Husk and decided to lie down on the counter right next to him. "I don't know why everyone wants to be around me."
Hours Later
Angel's time had been completed as he finally made it back to the hotel. He wasn't looking very good as he had definite signs of bruising on his body as Valentino had not given him an easy night. Angel sat himself down at the bar as he didn't think he would make it to his room before collapsing He then rested his head on the bar counter as he was pretty exhausted. He was resting his eyes but It lead to a type of slumber as he fell asleep at the counter. He stayed there until the sounds of Husk walking in woke him up. He probably would have stayed asleep if he was actually in a type of deep sleep or a sleep that produced a dream.
"You go through my fucking stash or something?" Husk asked.
"Fucking what?" Angel asked as he rubbed his eyes. He still was a little out of it.
"I'm assuming you drank enough of my shit to make you pass out. And I don't know how long you've been here but you must have downed it fast," Husk said.
"I wish I had drank that much but I haven't," Angel said as he looked at Husk.
"Oh. Long fuckin night huh?" Husk asked. He could see some bruising on his face and he knew exactly where Angel had been.
"You guessed it. Val is working me to the fucking bone lately. All these shows, films, and clients and shit," Angel said. His still resting on the bar as he was half awake at this point.
"And did those clients do that shit to you?" Husk asked as Angel looked like he took a beating.
"No. That was good old Valentino. He was extra pissy tonight. I love my girl Cherri to death, but she made tonight a lot fucking harder on me," Angel responded.
"Speaking of her, she dropped off that pig of yours hours ago," Husk said as he figured he should mention that before he forgets.
"Good, at least I don't gotta worry about that anymore," Angel said as he finally picked himself up off the counter.
"What did Cherri do to make Valentino upset?" Husk asked getting back to the original conversation.
"Valentino found my ass on the streets of hell and wanted me to come with him, but Cherri stood up for me and wanted to kick Val's ass. I fucking love that girl but, I doubt she could beat Valentino in a fight. So, I made sure she stopped before she got herself killed," Angel said.
"She briefly mentioned that when she came," Husk said.
"And because of that, Valentino pretty much took it out on me for my 'associates' disrespecting him. Fucking load of bullshit if you ask me. And maybe my 'associates' wouldn't have to be a dick to you if you weren't such a dick yourself," Angel said as he was mimicking talking to Valentino.
"Yeah," Husk responded. All of a sudden he thought of something else that was definitely conversation-worthy, something that Angel would definitely find interesting. "Well, I got something else that may take your mind off of that," Husk said changing the topic.
"A free drink?" Angel asked.
"Well...uh...fine. I can give you that. But that was not where I was going with that," Husk said as he looked for something good to give Angel. "Something a bit more newsworthy."
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Angel asked. He was clearly interested in what Husk was going to say.
"There is somebody new here at the hotel," Husk answered as he placed a bottle of liquor on the counter with a few shot glasses.
"No fucking way. Charlie actually managed to convince a demon to stay at this place?" Angel asked as he couldn't believe that.
"Not a demon," Husk said.
A confused look came to Angel's face. "What the hell do you mean by 'not a demon?" He said with air quotes around his words.
"It means exactly what the fuck it means. I ain't giving you a puzzle," Husk responded.
Angel noticed that Husk was giving him a straight face, clearly, Husk was not playing a joke on him. He started to think about what Husk was trying to tell him. He felt like he got punched in the face as what Husk was trying to tell him hit him at that moment. He slammed a palm on the bar counter in a fit of shock as well as saying, "No!"
"Yep," Husk said as he knew Angel got it.
"How in the fuck did Charlie get that human to stay here?" Angel asked.
"No fucking clue. Just the goodest of her heart," Husk said.
"That's fucking wild. What room is he in?" Angel asked.
"I don't know for sure. All I fucking know is his room is around that direction," Husk said pointing up to the hallway.
"Wait how fucking long has he been here?" Angel asked as he don't know how all of this happened in the time he was gone.
"Basically the entire time you've been gone," Husk responded.
"Go fucking figure," Angel said with a roll of his eyes. "Maybe I'll have to give him a late-night visit~"
"Go ahead. Your dick may not be attached to your body afterward but be my guest," Husk said making a joke.
"Shit who knows. Maybe he like guys," Angel said looking down the hallway again.
"I don't that motherfucker likes anyone," Husk responded.
"Well, neither do you. Wait, you don't like anyone, and yer pretty angry all the time. Oh my gosh, you two can become best buds, share yer good old war stories!" Angel said with a big ass grin on his face.
"I think I'm fucking good," Husk responded.
Angel let out a small chuckle at Husk's remark. He always did enjoy having bar talk with Husk. But that was interrupted as he got a notification on his phone. He pulled it out of his jacket and looked down to see it was from Valentino. "You gotta be fucking me without lube." He thought to himself.
"Something wrong?" Husk asked.
Angel said. He started to think to himself for a moment. He started thinking about all the stuff Charlie and Vaggie would tell him about going out. "You are a pretty smart fella right?"
"Most likely depends if I'm sober or not," Husk said.
"Are ya sober right now?" Angel asked. He then figured that he asked a dumb question as Husk gave him the expression of "What the fuck do you think?" That gave him his answer. Because of this, he asked his question. "You...you think Valentino would come around here?"
"What to this stupid fucking place? Doubt it tickles his fancy," Husk responded not realizing the tone of Angel's voice.
"No, I'm being serious. Do you truly think so? Do you think if I stay here for a while, I'll be protected?" Angel asked.
Husk could sense the panic in Angel's voice, he was being one hundred percent serious with that question. He knew that Angel wanted to hear something good so Husk wanted to give him a good answer, even if he didn't fully believe it.
"No. I don't think he would. Maybe he would take into consideration that this place is owned and operated by the princess of hell," Husk said as he tried to start somewhere.
"Maybe, but c'mon. I don't think Charlie brings in too much respect being the princess after all," Angel responded and he was right too.
"Fair. He also might take into fucking consideration that Alastor resides here. I've been around too many fucking overlords in my time here. They gain turf from the places they reside or own. This whole hotel is considered Alastor's turf, I doubt Valentino would be dumb enough to invade Alastor's area," Husk said.
"Yeah. But Alastor clearly doesn't give too much of a shit about my shit with Val. He could honestly care less," Angel responded.
"Alastor fucking cares when he needs to care," Husk said.
Angel started to think about that while looking at this phone. "Yeah. Maybe...maybe."
"You tryna to lay low from Valentino or sum shit?" Husk asked as he was starting to catch Angel's drift.
"I could sure use a motherfucking break I'll give ya that much. Valentino will never go for it if I just say 'Hey Val, I know yer working my ass to the fucking bone and are a super strict asshole, but I need a break." Angel said giving Husk an example.
"I think he'll live without you for at least one day," Husk said.
"At this point, I don't even know," Angel said.
"Well legs, I ain't you so I can't make a decision for you," Husk said.
"Yeah...yeah. Shit, I don't know, but what I do know, is that I'm fucking beat so I'm calling it a night." Angel said as he downed a shot of liquor. After that, he poured a few more and downed those as well.
"Why don't you just take the fucking bottle at this point. Sounds like you need it. And it will help with pain," Husk said.
"Giving me a whole bottle? You really know how to spoil a gal," Angel said.
"You fucking want it or not?" Husk asked.
"Of fucking course," Angel said taking it. "Thanks, babe."
"Fucking whatever," Husk responded as he left Angel.
Angel then proceeded up the staircase while taking many swigs of the bottle. Probably wasn't the greatest idea to get himself drunk while walking upstairs but he pretty much said fuck it. Somehow he made his way towards his room He wondered what he should do. He was truly thinking of bullshitting with Valentino saying something like he lost his phone, or it broke, or he wasn't receiving his texts or calls. But he didn't know how long something like that was going to hold. He brought out his phone again as he kept on walking toward his room. He really was debating on his next move here while taking more drinks from the bottle.
He stopped at the room to his door and proceeded to lean against it as he still was debating on what to do. He needed a fucking break and Valentino was really pissing him off lately. He was making his life a living hell right now. All the emotion that was building up as well as the buzz he was feeling in him right now affected his decision. He decided that he would respond to Valentino's messages to get him to stop. But he really didn't focus on the message he just sent.
His emotions really did affect his decision as he wasn't thinking far enough. Once he got away from the hotel, Valentino wouldn't just forget about that and greet him with hugs and kisses. But maybe, just maybe, Charlie or Alastor could allow him to be safe here. After all, Alastor had always been against Angel and had been on Charlie's side about redemption. Angel was hoping that it would work out in his favor. But for now, he needed some sleep.
He opened the door to his room to find that Fat Nuggets was sleeping in his little bed. That made Angel feel good as it confirmed that Cherri had returned him and he was in fact safe. Not that he had doubts she would. He began to undress as fast as he could before falling down face-first in the bed and tossing his phone aside. He was already passed out that he didn't know he was getting text message...after text message...after text message...After text message.
(The Next Day)
Angel finally opened his eyes to another morning in hell. He rolled over to his side to find that he rolled right onto a basically empty liquor bottle. Some of the things of last night began to come back to him. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He saw his jacket was hanging off the bed and slipped that on his body. He didn't bother to put on his full attire at the moment like his gloves or his bowtie. He slipped his phone into his pocket and proceeded out into the hotel. He had to try and work off this hangover in his own way. He figured that moving around would help so he walked towards the lobby like he typically did on most mornings. And he clearly wasn't the only one who has that idea as everyone else was there except Alastor.
"Good fucking morning happy time crew," Angel said in a drowsy tone."
"Hey Angel, how are you feeling?" Charlie asked since she knew a bit of what happened.
"Decent at best toots. My head is pounding," Angel said as he plopped himself down in a seat.
"How much of that fucking bottle did you drink?" Husk asked.
"Good question," Angel said.
"I really feel bad that this is happening to you almost every day now," Charlie said.
"I ain't got a fucking clue what has crawled up Val's ass lately. I don't know if he feels he's gotta prove some shit or what but this shit is FUCKING ridiculous," Angel said.
"I couldn't agree more," Vaggie said. "Wait, what was that noise?" She said as she heard something from the front of the hotel.
"Sounds like a vehicle just pulled up in front of the hotel," Charlie said as she heard it too. She went for the doors to see what had caused it.
"Do you know who it is?" Vaggie asked as Charlie opened the door.
"Ummmm, I'm not sure. It's a limo," Charlie said.
"It's not your family is it?" Vaggie asked.
"Definitely not," Charlie responded.
"Demon royalty?" Niffty asked.
"Possibly? But it's definitely not one I've seen before," Charlie responded. She saw the rear door open and saw a pile of red smoke come out of it. It was very obvious who it was now. "It's Valentino," She said as she shut the door behind her.
"Speak of the fucking devil," Husk said.
"What's he doing here?" Niffty asked.
"What the fuck! Why did he come to the...OH FUCK!" Angel said as he was practically screaming in his thoughts. He dug at his jacket like a madman for his phone only for his heart to sink. He forgot about the text messages he got from Val and the one he sent.
Valentino
You better be ready tomorrow night Angel cakes, you are needed again.
...
Angel...
...
You better not be ignoring me. Respond so I know you understand.
...
Angel (Drunk Text)
I need a break so ima ignore you for a bit K?
...
Valentino
Excuse me? You did not just fucking say that to me, did you?
...
I hope you're playing some kind of sick fucking joke on me right
now cause the game you are playing right now is a bad one.
...
ANGEL!
...
Who the fuck do you think you are? Having the balls to say
when you get to go on break and ignore me? You better take it
all back right now or else.
...
That's it, Angel, I know where you are staying at. I'm coming to get
you.
...
"Well shit! He wasn't fucking bullshitting me after all," Angel thought to himself. The feeling of immediate regret started to kick in as this is what he was afraid of happening. "Didn't you say he wouldn't come around here," He said to Husk.
"Well, I've been fucking wrong about shit before!" Husk responded in a somewhat louder tone.
"Fuck, fuck. I don't know what to do if he actually does barge in. He can usually see through my bullshit, my excuses. I gotta think of something good to say," Angel said trying to think. He really did not think this far as he was convinced...well convinced at the point in time of making that decision that Valentino wouldn't dare approach this place. He again was having more feelings of regret.
"Does Valentino really fucking need you again? This is getting fucking ridiculous at this point," Vaggie said.
"Well he's probably extra fucking pissed off today," Angel said.
"Why is that?" Charlie asked.
"Cause I was drunk off my ass last night so I kind of sent him a message saying I wasn't coming to the studios and I was taking a break. So in other words, I'm fucked!" Angel explained.
"Don't say that just yet. Maybe some kind of fucking agreement can be met," Husk suggested.
"I agree with Husk. Maybe we can get him to go somewhere else or possibly work out some kind of deal," Vaggie said.
"I don't like the way you mentioned a deal," Angel said.
"I was thinking maybe we could get him to give you some time off. Just an idea," Vaggie responded.
"I don't think that will ever work," Angel said.
"Maybe not. It would also be really fucking helpful if Alastor was down here," Vaggie mentioned.
"He's still in the tower! It really would be helpful if he had a phone," Charlie said.
"Well princess I hope you can work out some fucking magic 'cause I am fucked," Angel said.
"I'll see what I can do here," Charlie responded.
"I'm rooting for you princess 'cause I'm not putting this lightly, If he knows that I was intentionally ignoring him, I'm in for the biggest beating of my afterlife," Angel said as he was terrified of what Valentino would actually do if he encountered him. Knowing Val, he'd probably try to kill his pig right in front of him or beat him until he could barely breathe. This is why he kept sneaking out so this wouldn't come to the hotel. He not only feared for himself but for the others. He hoped Alastor would actually do something.
A trail of smoke began to pour through the cracks until the doors flew open and a giant cloud filled the doorway. A figure couldn't be found yet as the smoke was too thick. All the demons in the lobby were pretty much just waiting in anticipation for Valentino to come in and it didn't take long as they could see the large figure appear out of the smoke and he did not look happy. Charlie hoped she could get him to go and try to resolve this in a calm matter. But she also prepared for the worst. It was Valentino after all and he wasn't the nicest demon around. But then again, most demons weren't.
"Oh, hello Valentino, welcome to the Hazbin Hotel. I did not know you were coming by," Charlie said as she was acting naive.
"Yeah, yeah, let's just skip this little introduction spiel and get to the point," Valentino spoke.
"The point? I'm sorry, I don't understand," Charlie responded trying to act as naive as possible.
"Really. Princess I know you're a smart girl, so cut all this bullshit okay? I can see right through that little pretty but dumb act you're putting on right now. You know what the point is about. Your little...project," Valentino said seeing right through the lie. He looked at Angel right in his eyes. "Angel..."
"H-Heya Val," Angel said.
"Don't fucking give me that 'heya Val' bullshit. Why do you think now is a good time to ignore me? Hell, it's never a good time to ignore me, but ESPECIALLY NOT NOW," Valentino exclaimed.
"Wait, wait. Let's all calm down for a moment. How has Angel been ignoring you?" Charlie asked.
"I know you have a fucking phone princess, you can work that out on your own," Valentino responded.
"I wasn't trying to ignore you Val, I was drunk, wasn't myself last night. I didn't mean that" Angel pleaded.
"Bull fucking shit Angel Cakes. You have been hiding out here like a little RAT! You SOMEHOW MISSED MY MESSAGES FOR DAYS? I figured you'd be here, trying to mosey on out of paying your fucking dues, been doing all this reckless SHIT, AND GETTING YOUR DAMN FRIENDS OF YOURS TO DISRESPECT ME? It's not a trick question it's all THE FUCKING ABOVE!" Valentino exclaimed. With each word, he said he slowly got closer and closer to Angel where he grabbed his jacket and yelled in his face.
"HEY, don't yell at him," Charlie said.
"This is none of your concern," Valentino said.
"YES, it very well is. Angel is a member here and you have no right to treat him that way. I know what his connection is with you but can't you just give him a break? It seems as if you've been needing him every day now. You are working him to literal death" Charlie said.
"Yeah and there's a reason for that shit princess," Valentino said as he turned away from Angel and was now focusing on Charlie. "I don't know what kind of shit has sprouted in these demons' minds lately but Angel has been extremely popular lately. In the entire time, Angel has worked for me, he has never been requested so often. So yes, I do need Angel and I don't take it kindly when he FUCKING IGNORES ME!"
"Angel's not your only fucking worker you know. I know Porn Studios is a company that brings in a lot of money, so I'm sure you'll survive without him for a while. Besides, he still needs time for the last fucking beating you gave him, which seems to be all you do," Vaggie said chiming in.
"Listen here bitch, I don't need you telling me how to run my business, cause listen here sweetcheeks, I've been doing this A LONG FUCKING time. I haven't gone broke yet so clearly I'm doing something right," Valentino said with a big gold tooth smile.
"But why do you always have to hurt him?" Niffty asked.
"Because you little midget, there's a way to do these things. Being a pimp like myself, you have to control your whores, sluts, hoes, or whatever you wanna fucking call them, and not let them get outta LINE. There's a little hierarchy to this sorta thing and those whores got to KNOW their fucking place. My Angel Cakes had a notorious habit of always fucking up and getting out of line causing me to always have to remind him of where THE FUCK HIS PLACE IS. I do not want to do what I do to Angel but unfortunately, HE wants to make shit soooo much harder on himself. Me being here is another example of it. Maybe this time, I can finally get it through his head," Valentino explained.
"But Angel is not some piece of property that you can just toss around," Charlie said.
"He is exactly that, my property. EVERYTHING that Angel is in right now was laid out right fucking before him. He knew what in the FUCK he was getting himself into when he signed himself over to me, Valentino responded.
"Yeah, all those beatings you give him? I'm sure that was in the fucking agreement," Husk said with a very mean glare towards Valentino.
"Oh look, it's the Radio Demon's pet. Didn't know you were that much of a pussy to where you believed in this redemption bullshit," Valentino said with a chuckle. Husk didn't have anything witty to say back so he just continued to glare at him. Once Valentino was done making himself laugh, he spoke again. "Do not worry about my business with Angel, you can worry about whatever royalty shit or whatever shit goes on in this place and I'll worry about my business."
"Angel is my concern too! I care about his well-being cause I know you don't. I can't see Angel go with you again and again and come back even more hurt than the last time," Charlie said. After she said that, everyone in the room knew they had to be on guard as they didn't think Valentino was going to take that lightly.
"Princess..." He said in a low voice. Not as low as a whisper but not as high as a normal speaking voice. "You are wasting all of our time here. I don't know if you're trying to make some proud stand here against me but that shit isn't going to fly. So just stop it now." He said.
"It ain't some proud stand that she's making. It's the truth. You can't just beat the shit out of Angel every single day you're around him " Vaggie exclaimed as she pulled out her spear.
"Who says I can't? You?" Valentino responded.
"I can't allow this to happen like this. You have to be able to work out something with Angel. Like Vaggie said, allow him to take a break or something!" Charlie said.
"Well as far as I'm concerned, you don't control that now do you?" Valentino responded.
"And you can't seem to control not being a piece of shit," Husk muttered loud enough for all to hear.
"Oh? Well, I don't remember asking for your INPUT!" Valentino exclaimed as he nailed Husk over the face with a golden handgun. It was quite fancy for a gun standard.
"Husk!" Niffty said as Husk fell right to the ground.
"Hey! You ca-" Charlie started to say. Her horns were beginning to come out of her head until the gun was now pointed at Husk's face.
"Now I don't know what kind of powers you really have being the daughter of the literal king of hell. Who knows, you could probably survive getting shot with this beauty. But these other demons, like this...pussycat. I don't think they will have the same effect. Will they?" Valentino said with a big ass grin as he knew he was in control. But he was not aware of how long he would be in control as someone else would be joining in.
Time at this hotel was definitely an interesting experience so far for the Slayer. Again, none of this is anything like he is used to. He has been enjoying the fact that he has a private space for him to tinker and also a place to think. He needed to devise some kind of plan here of what he wanted to do. Hell, he didn't even know how long he would stay at this place.
He hadn't had practically any interactions with the members of the hotel since the day he first got here. He would go in and out of the hotel at times but always seemed to come back at the right time when the demons in the hotel were busy doing other things. None of the other demons had bothered to try and talk with him or bother him in any way which was also a positive. The Slayer wanted to be left alone. He was in his room tinkering with his weapons but couldn't help but overhear all the sudden commotion going on in the distance. It wasn't just some typical chatter that he had heard from the hotel. This definitely sounded like conflict.
He stored only his pump action shotgun away as he got to his feet to see what was going on out there. He opened the door to his room, maneuvered his way out, and closed the door behind him. He walked down the hallway to the balcony; the voices of the other demons came louder as well as another demon's voice that he swore he had heard before. He now slowly walked to the top of the staircase and saw Charlie standing next to Vaggie with Niffty off in a corner. Closer to him he saw Husk on the ground rubbing his face and wiping the blood coming from his face. The Slayer then clenched his fists as he slowly started to walk down the stairs.
"As I said I'm not fucking around anymore. Angel, you are comin-," Valentino said as he put the gun away. He turned at the loud footsteps and saw the Slayer walking down the stairs getting closer and closer "Oh come the fuck on. YOU are really here too? What kind of fucking bitch parade you got going on here princess?" Valentino asked. He also remembered that the Slayer doesn't speak. "Look I know you don't have a damn clue what's going on or how shit works in hell, but this doesn't concern you okay?"
The Slayer took his eyes off of Valentino and slowly gaged the room. He studied the facial expressions of Charlie, Vaggie, Niffty, Angel, as well as Husk who was hurt on the floor. He could figure out that something was wrong here. They clearly were not happy to see this taller demon. This demon probably thought he could push the Slayer around cause he was a human, and this demon was clearly doing something Charlie didn't like.
"We're fucking going RIGHT FUCKING NOW Angel!" Valentino moved to the side and began to walk past the Slayer. He then stopped as the Slayer stuck an arm out and placed it on his stomach. "The fuck do you think you're doing?" He asked and he was about to find out.
The Slayer changed his positioning and just launched Valentino across the room with one hand. Valentino hit the floor hard and rolled a few times before coming to a halt. Valentino's back was stinging like a motherfucker after that one. He started to get up but then stopped as he heard loud footsteps approaching him and approaching him fast. He looked up to see the Slayer was over him and delivered a kick to Valentino's ribs and causing him to roll over a few more times. Valentino was extremely pissed off now. He gritted his teeth as red smoke began to form all around him. The smoke went out and around the Slayer's arms at an attempt to restrict him but it didn't work as the powerful man broke free of the hold within seconds. That took Valentino by surprise as that didn't normally happen. He then pulled out another gun from his coat but it didn't matter as the Slayer used his left arm to quickly knock the gun out of Valentino's hands. The Slayer then quickly struck Valentino with a left hook and then a right one to follow. He then kicked Valentino hard and sent him flying back into the wall causing damages to it.
Valentino let out a few coughs as he attempted to get his breath back as the wind was knocked out of him from the kick and the impact into the wall. Blood was starting to run down his face and pour out of his mouth. He spit out the blood on the hotel's floors as he didn't care about them. He stayed on the ground and looked back at the Slayer who slowly walked toward him. He watched as the Slayer stepped on his heart-shaped glasses and smashed them under his weight before coming to a halt over Valentino. Valentino looked down and let out a scoff. "So...I guess those fucking muscles ain't just for show." He said. He slowly reached in his coat to grab his gun. "But, let's see how those muscles do against a-"
CHIK-CHIK
Valentino stopped going for his gun and thought about the sound he just heard. It sounded like a shotgun cocking, but he knew no one in the room had a shotgun, and the Slayer didn't come out with one. Or did he? Valentino looked up to see the Slayer holding a large pump shotgun that had smoke coming from the barrel.
"What in the flying fuck. H-How the fuck did that thing appear? What kind of magic shit is that!" Valentino exclaimed as he was confused as shit. Once again that wouldn't be answered as a new demon entered the room and it wasn't Angel.
"Well, well, well. Valentino my good man, what an unpleasant surprise to see you here. My? It looks like you've seen better days," Alastor spoke about Valentino's bloody face. He slowly paced into the lobby. Oh? I see you've met him," Alastor said as he wasn't sure if Charlie was telling him the truth at first, but now he knows she was.
"Fuck." Valentino thought to himself as the Radio demon was the last person he wanted to see right now.
"What business have you here? Redemption I suppose?" Alastor asked. He placed a hand by his ear as a way of hearing Valentino better. But of course, Valentino didn't bother saying anything in response. "No? I didn't think so. Well is it some other business then? Care to support the establishment?" He asked again and got no response. "No again. Well from what I have gathered your visit here has been nothing but abrupt and uncivilized."
"Don't play fucking stupid with me, you know why the fuck I'm here," Valentino said finally speaking to Alastor.
"I'm pretty sure I do as I don't think you'd be here for any other purpose," Alastor said smugly.
"Then it's not your business as well as any of their fucking businesses in trying to keep him from me," Valentino responded.
"You are absolutely right. But. When you barge your way into my turf in the manner that you have conducted. Then, it is my business," Alastor spoke in a demonic tone.
"Well I wouldn't fucking have to be on your fucking turf any longer if you tell you little fucking hotel staff to stay the fuck outta my way," Valentino responded.
"Well you know them, they do care for Angel's wellbeing. As for him, I don't think he listens to anyone but himself. I do not control him in any way, so if you made him angry, I suggest you deal with that on your own," Alastor suggested.
"This is fucking bullshit Alastor. You can't keep Angel from me, you know HE'S FUCKING MINE," Valentino exclaimed.
"You are right, he is. But this is not a good time, you'll have to find another time to come in contact with Angel. Because you have barged your way into this hotel, attacked the person who runs the front desk and our bar, threatened the rest of the staff here, and threatened to cause tons of damages to the hotel. So as I see it, you have two options. You collect yourself and leave the hotel with what little pride you have left or...I tear you limb from limb. I'm sure you can figure out what the more fun option is for me. So I'll let you decide," Alastor said.
Valentino was in a bad place right now. To his left he had the princess of hell, in front of him he had this massive human who just threw him around like a ragdoll holding a massive shotgun, and to his right stood one of the most powerful demons in all of hell. So his decision was pretty easy as he knew he had to get out of there to save his skin.
"Fine. I'll fucking leave. But Angel can't stay locked up here forever. HE BELONGS TO ME. You fucking know that princess. YOU ALL KNOW THAT. You can't do shit about this. You...you...you...I fucking know you Angel. There's no way you stay here forever, and when you out there, your mine. And I'll make you do gang bangs for the REST OF YOUR FUCKING AFTERLIFE," Valentino said as he got up to his feet.
"Well you are right that he belongs to you. But your time to get him isn't now," the Radio demon mentioned giving him another indicator to leave.
Valentino let out an angry grunt as he walked towards the doors and opened them. He then proceeded towards the limo that was parked outside. The Slayer however wasn't completely done. He let go of the shotgun with his left hand and only held it in his right before picking up Valentino's hat and walking outside with it. He saw that Valentino was now in the backseat of the limo by this time, but the sound of the hotel doors opening and closing brought Valentino's attention to him. The Slayer held up his hat for Valentino to see and then used his flame belch to light the whole hat on fire before tossing it to the ground to burn. It was basically his final 'fuck you' to Valentino. Valentino gave out a super angry expression and followed it with a pissed off grunt at what the Slayer did as he knew he couldn't do anything back right now. All he could do now was a retreat and come back with a better game plan.
As the limo sped off, something only the Slayer would know about happened. He actually showed a small bit of emotion as he let out a small smirk when Valentino looked pissed off at his hat being burned. It was a smug smirk nonetheless, but it was still a smirk. Although, it didn't stay for long as the Slayer turned back to his normal angry state. He remained out front as he stood down and watched the hat slowly burn to a crisp while he rested his shotgun on his right shoulder.
Inside the hotel, the whole group of the Hazbin Hotel stopped focusing on Valentino and were now focused on the aftermath of what just occurred. Charlie in a way was somewhat relieved as to what just happened. Nothing got extremely out of control, Angel didn't get dragged out of the hotel, and nobody died. But of course, it wasn't perfect as Husk was hurt from the encounter.
"Husk, are you alright?" Charlie asked as she went over to check on him.
"Eh, I've been fucking worse than getting pistol whipped by some piece of shit overlord," Husk responded. He had a gash on his cheek that could easily be fixed by getting bandaged up.
"I can't believe he actually showed his face in the hotel," Vaggie said as she also peaked over at Husk's injury.
"He's a persistent one, that's for sure," Alastor said.
"And a fucking bastard too," Husk said as he picked himself up and sat on one of the seats by the bar.
"Yes, but I don't think he'll come by the hotel anymore," Charlie added but that could end up being one less problem for them to deal with.
"I wouldn't be so sure my dear. Valentino won't be stopped so easily. It will make it quite entertaining," Alastor said.
"Are you serious? Do you think he'll come back here after getting tossed around like a burlap sack by that human? I don't think so," Vaggie stated.
"Which was fucking awesome by the way," Angel spoke with a type of shocked excitement as he finally spoke up. He really couldn't believe what he just saw. He had never seen Valentino so helpless and had never seen someone stand up to him like that. Usually whenever someone did that they ended up making his situation ten times worse so he always told them to not get involved. But this human...he just gave zero fucks. And to Angel...that was hot as fuck.
"Ah yes, the damsel in distress," Alastor said looking towards Angel.
"Yeah, big fucking thanks to you Alastor. Would have been nice if you appeared or were here during that entire altercation." Angel said. He looked over at Husk as well to see what his face looked like after that.
"Speaking of appearing sooner, where the hell were you Alastor? It could have been helpful if you were here to stop Valentino in his tracks," Vaggie said.
"I was always there seeing through the shadows. I know Valentino is afraid of me in some aspects and would react differently if I were present. I assure you, had it gotten too out of hand, I would have shown my face. But that human had it all under control," Alastor said.
"Gee, my face fucking thanks you Alastor," Husk said. He saw that Niffty had returned with the first-aid kit.
"Speaking of the human, do you think he followed after Valentino?" Angel asked.
"It could be a possibility," Charlie responded.
"Well shit, I feel like I gotta thank him in some way. Saved me a lot of fucking trouble," Angel said. "Seems pretty fucking useful that you convinced him to stay here Charlie, now we got our own little hotel security."
"Yeah, I guess. Although I didn't give him a title of security. He did that all on his own," Charlie said.
"Who gives a fuck. I'm glad he did," Angel responded.
"Wait. Is something burning?" Vaggie said as she caught a whiff of something.
"Y-Yes, it smells like something is. From outside," Charlie said.
"Oh shit, what the fuck did Valentino do," Vaggie said as she and Charlie rushed outside, the others slowly followed. She threw open the doors and the Slayer was the first person they both saw.
"Oh. Well, that explains where he went," Vaggie said as they both slowly walked around him.
"Valentino is gone," Charlie said as she looked left and right. She then looked down at what was burning and was trying to figure out what that was.
"Oh, that is just too good!" Alastor said as he emerged to the other side of the Slayer and figured out what was burning. "It's the hat of Valentino. He went ahead and burned it right in front of the hotel."
"Oh, that's fucking hilarious. An absolute fuck you to Val," Angel said as he couldn't be happier right now.
"First the glasses and now this," Vaggie said. She didn't know why but this convinced her that this guy had the biggest balls around. She could tell he did not care who he pissed off.
The Slayer was done standing out front and turned around slowly before proceeding back inside. Angel could tell this guy was not one for conversation, he followed him right back into the hotel to get him to stop.
"Woah, woah, woah, slow your roll tiger," Angel said as he got in front of the Slayer and placed two hands on the Slayer's armor to get him to stop walking, which he succeeded in. "Hey now, I know you are not someone for fucking small talk but you just did some major shit just now."
"I don't think he gives a fuck Angel," Husk said, and he answered completely correct for the Slayer.
"Probably, but that doesn't excuse from the fact of what the fuck he did," Angel responded.
"Are you upset by this Angel?" Vaggie asked as she came back in as well as Alastor and Charlie.
"No of course not. You bitches can figure out how long I've wanted to put Val on his ass but never had the power to do it. He literally did. He tossed a literal overlord around with one arm," Angel said.
"I do not think that should come as a surprise," Alastor said as he used his cane to point at the Slayer's bicep.
"Obviously I see he has biceps the side of my fucking head, but that's some incredible strength. Inhuman strength for that matter," Angel said.
"What the fuck is the point here?" Husk asked.
"Fuck, right, getting way off track. Look I gotta at least thank your big ass for doing something like that. I don't know if you actually give a damn about us or you just fucking hate Valentino as much as I do, but thanks," Angel said.
The Slayer just kept looking at Angel with the same serious look. As said before, the Slayer would do what he wanted to do. If he went and did something for someone, like saving them, he didn't care if they thanked him or not.
"I don't mean to drastically change the subject, but I have a question that I am dying to know," Niffty said. Once they had their attention on her she began again, "Is anyone else confused about where that gun came from?"
"Okay yes, that kind of crossed my mind too," Vaggie said.
"Well...I guess I thought of that too," Charlie said.
"Let's just fucking say we all thought about that," Husk said so everyone else didn't have to repeat the same thing.
"I don't know how he did something like that. It literally appeared out of nowhere," Niffty said.
"Perhaps he has some magical abilities. What is so wrong with that?" Alastor asked with a grin. He was now sitting down on one of the couches in the lobby.
"But he's a human, not a demon like you. He didn't get some weird afterlife blessing of god powers," Angel said.
"I do not think I ever said he was a demon now did I? Besides if you really want an answer to this conundrum, why don't you just ask the man himself," Alastor said as he was intentionally trying to be a smart ass.
"Damn Al, why didn't I think of that. Oh right, maybe 'cause he doesn't speak," Angel said crossing all his arms.
"Except when he wants to," Alastor responded.
"Yeah like when he's rejecting your creepy ass," Angel said making himself laugh.
"Or to Charlie," Niffty said.
"Wait what?" Angel said as he stopped laughing. "He spoke to you?" He was directing that question to Charlie.
"Yes he did, but it was just one word. Nothing too crazy," Charlie responded.
"What the fuck, why y'all so damn special that you get him to speak?" Angel asked.
"Usually those who don't pester someone to do something make them more inclined to do it," Husk said and he had a point too.
"I have asked him one fucking time and that was when I first met his ass on that street corner. But I doubt he has anything to say to me now right?" Angel said turning towards the Slayer.
And Angel was right. All of the demons in the hotel looked at the Slayer in case he did say something, but he didn't this time. He stood there staring at Angel and not even making a noise.
"I believe that is strike number two Angel! One more and you will have struck out," Alastor said trying to laugh at Angel now.
"Fuck right off Al," Angel responded.
Alastor let out a quick laugh before speaking. "So, we have engaged ourselves in a feud against Valentino and we now have the most dangerous human anyone has ever seen. We are in for some good fun now!"